Steve Kerr used the 'Death Lineup' midway through the second quarter of the Warriors' Game 1 win over the Clippers

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OAKLAND, CA – APRIL 13: Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr gestures from the sidelines in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of an NBA first round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, April 13, 2019. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 13: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) makes a shot against the Los Angeles Clippers during the first quarter of Game 1 of the NBA playoffs series at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, April 13, 2019. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson (11) reacts after a foul call while playing against the Los Angeles Clippers during the first quarter of their NBA game at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif. on Sunday, April 7, 2019. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)

Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant (35) pressures Los Angeles Clippers’ Patrick Beverley (21) during the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the NBA playoffs series at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, April 13, 2019. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green (23) looses there ball against the Los Angeles Clippers’ Patrick Beverley (21) during the first quarter of Game 1 of the NBA playoffs series at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, April 13, 2019. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut (12), left, and Golden State Warriors guard Andre Iguodala (9) joke around in the fourth quarter of their game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, April 13, 2016. The Warriors went on to win their 73rd game and the NBA all-time winning record. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr talks with Kevin Durant (35) during the second quarter of Game 1 of the NBA playoffs series against the Los Angeles Clippers at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, April 13, 2019. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) dribbles the against Los Angeles Clippers’ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) in the first quarter of Game 1 of an NBA first round playoff series at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, April 13, 2019. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

OAKLAND, CA – APRIL 13: Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant (35) and Los Angeles Clippers’ Patrick Beverley (21) get up close in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of an NBA first round playoff series at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, April 13, 2019. Both Durant and Beverley were ejected from the game. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 13: Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green (23) makes a shot against the Los Angeles Clippers during the first quarter of Game 1 of the NBA playoffs series at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, April 13, 2019. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

OAKLAND, CA – APRIL 13: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) points after being knocked down by Los Angeles Clippers’ Garrett Temple (17) in the third quarter of Game 1 of an NBA first round playoff series at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, April 13, 2019. Temple was charged with a foul on the play. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson (11) shoots past Los Angeles Clippers’ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during the second quarter of their NBA game at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif. on Sunday, April 7, 2019. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)

Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant (35) pushes in on Los Angeles Clippers’ Patrick Beverley (21) in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of an NBA first round playoff series at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, April 13, 2019. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

OAKLAND, CA – APRIL 13: Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant (35) smiles while being greeted by Golden State Warriors’ Quinn Cook (4) and Jordan Bell (2) as Draymond Green (23) reacts to Durant being ejected from the game in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of an NBA first round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, April 13, 2019. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant (35) and Stephen Curry (30) high-five each other after Curry scored a basket during the second quarter of Game 1 of the NBA playoffs series against the Los Angeles Clippers at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, April 13, 2019. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

Kevin Durant (35) shoots the ball against Los Angeles Clippers’ JaMychal Green (4) in the second quarter of Game 1 of an NBA first round playoff series at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, April 13, 2019. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green (23), Kevin Durant (35), Stephen Curry (30) and Andre Iguodala (9) celebrate a dunk by Durant in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers during Game 1 of an NBA first round playoff series at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, April 13, 2019. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

Draymond Green (23) defends against Los Angeles Clippers’ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) in the first quarter of Game 1 of an NBA first round playoff series at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, April 13, 2019. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) interacts with fans after he was fouled by Los Angeles Clippers’ Lou Williams (23) during the second quarter of Game 1 of the NBA playoffs series at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday, April 13, 2019. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

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OAKLAND – The option remains Steve Kerr’s biggest trump card to use through times of uncertainty and strife.

Usually, though, the Warriors coach waits until crunch time before showing his cards. Usually, Kerr waits until the NBA Finals before fully show his hand.

In the first game of the 2019 NBA playoffs, though, Kerr did not wait. He showcased his so-called Death Lineup to stop the Los Angeles Clippers’ second-quarter surge that became a significant turning point in the Warriors’ Game 1 victory of their first-round series. And given that Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala have won two consecutive NBA titles partly by playing together, Kerr could feature them well before crunch time in Game 2 on Monday at Oracle Arena.

“It’s the best five-man unit in the league,” Kerr said. “We’ll play that lineup more often than in the regular season because we have days off in between. It’s what we do.”

The unspoken consequence of this move? This might come at the expense of DeMarcus Cousins’ playing time in his first NBA playoffs appearance after toiling in Sacramento’s mediocrity (2010-2017) and suffering a season-ending left Achilles tendon injury in New Orleans (2017-18).

After Cousins finished Game 1 with nine points on only 4-of-12 shooting and six fouls in 21 minutes, Kerr stressed he has “no doubt he’ll come back and play a lot better in Game 2.” But with Cousins validating the Clippers’ decision to leave him with uncontested shots and attacking him on pick-and-rolls, Kerr hardly showed much confidence in Cousins coming back and playing a lot better in the second quarter.

“It’s very strange for DeMarcus. When you’re used to being the main option and then you’re in a role where you have to be more complementary, it’s not easy,” Kerr said. “He’s done a really good job of that this year. The playoffs are different. The strategy really becomes a much bigger deal. The teams are ready for you.”

For a coach that believes in fielding a deep rotation, Kerr might change course. After the Warriors held a 38-27 first-quarter lead, Kerr opened the second quarter with a staggered unit featuring Thompson and Cousins along with Iguodala, Quinn Cook and Shaun Livingston. Then, the Clippers went on a 10-2 run by relying on Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams, whom Green called “their two best players” after eventually combining for 51 points.

What did Cousins do during that time? He missed two layups as well as 20-foot jump shot. He committed a turnover. As the Warriors’ rim protector, JaMychal Green had a dunk while Williams made two layups and an eight-foot floater. While Cousins eventually had a poor -17 in plus-minus, the Warriors’ opening second-quarter unit finished with a low offensive (50) and defensive rating (123.1) in a combined 13 minutes, which measures the respective points scored and allowed through 100 possessions.

“If you’ve never been in a playoff game, you’ve never really truly seen somebody’s scheme against you, but also your entire team,” Green said. “When you’re about to play somebody for possibly seven games in a row, then your whole scheme is locked in and everybody is focused on that. So that takes some adjusting.”

It did not take long for the Warriors’ death lineup to adjust. Andrew Bogut made a brief apppearance to match up on Harrell. Once Harrell left the game, Kerr went with his Death Lineup. After entering the game with a 43-42 lead with 6:37 left in the second quarter, that unit created a 60-54 cushion with 1:29 remaining. Kevon Looney then gave Green a breather, and helped the Warriors close the half with a 9-2 run. Looney eventually finished a plus-minus of +30, which measures a players’ on-court impact.

“Just being in the game at the right time,” Looney mused.

Sure that may have helped that Curry had 14 second-quarter points while shooting 4-of-4 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. But the Warriors’ Death Lineup yielded a high offensive rating (140) because, as Curry observed, “we always play faster with a lot of different playmakers.” They finished with a low defensive rating (93.7) because, as Curry noted,” that group is “a little more versatile.” Iguodala had a +17 in plus-minus.

“We have a lot of different looks that we can go to,” Curry said. “We’ve got to be able to adjust on the fly when those lineups happen and just play with confidence and play together.”

The Warriors have confidence obviously in playing well with Cousins. He is a four-time All-Star, after all. They liked his ongoing progress this season with conditioning, timing and post-up presence in the past three months. As Cousins conceded about the playoffs, though, “everything is just more magnified; every possession is more important.”

And since every possession is more important, Kerr appears more inclined to pair his four other All-Stars with Iguodala during trying moments. That formula has worked through two NBA title runs. It also worked in the Warriors’ Game 1 win over the Clippers.

“That’s our best lineup,” Kerr said. “So in the playoffs, we’ll play that lineup more often than we would in the regular season. So we’re going to go to it a little earlier. It’s not exactly rocket science.”